Ferndale to put Livernois on road diet'

Livernois Avenue in Ferndale, above, is about to go on a “road diet” to reduce vehicular traffic by one lane in each direction. Ferndale officials are working to add on-street parking, pedestrian crossings and bike lanes to the avenue. (David Dalton/Daily Tribune)

Ferndale officials are working to bring on-street parking and dedicated bike lanes to Livernois Avenue while eliminating one lane of vehicular traffic in each direction.

The plan, known as a “road diet,” is expected to start by this time next year and includes adding bicycle racks and mid-block crossings for pedestrians.

The changes will be made along Livernois between Eight Mile and Nine Mile roads.

Dereke Delacourt, head of Ferndale’s Community and Economic Development, and other city officials are meeting with nearby home and business owners at 6 p.m. tonight at the Ferndale Public Library, 222 E. Nine Mile, to talk about the upcoming project before final design plans are made.

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“The city in 2010 rezoned all the property along Livernois to mixed use in hopes of seeing some revitalization along the Livernois corridor,” Delacourt said.

Many of the proposed changes mimic what has already been done to spur economic development over the past dozen years in the city’s downtown along Nine Mile Road.

The plan also fits in with regional and state efforts to make streets more amenable to bicyclists, pedestrians and public transportation riders.

Nearly all the changes will be accomplished by painting designated areas for on-street parking, dedicated bike lanes and pedestrian crossings, Delacourt said.

Roughly 80 percent of the costs for the changes are covered by a Michigan Department of Transportation grant the city received earlier this year for $118,000. The Transportation Alternatives Program grant was made after the city sought it in coordination with the Southeastern Michigan Council of Governments.

The city will pay the remaining cost from money set aside in its street improvement fund, said Mayor Dave Coulter.

“Adding on-street parking is a big thing,” Coulter said. “We have started attracting shops and galleries on Livernois that require parking for their customers. We think this project can help make those businesses more successful.”

Traffic volume on Livernois is very low for the number of existing lanes on the avenue, Delacourt said.

On-street parking is needed, he added, because a number of business employees and others have begun parking in curb-side travel lanes for motor traffic.

“It is an extraordinarily unsafe situation,” he said. “We either have to enforce no parking in those travel lanes or look at a way to increase available parking.”

Most of the proposed changes to the road would be implemented between Eight Mile Road and Marshall Street — which is several blocks south of Nine Mile. The avenue has wide, grassy medians between Marshall and Nine Mile, some with military veterans’ memorials. In that stretch of Livernois, only dedicated bike lanes would be added, Delacourt said.